Trae Young returned to action with the Hawks with fanfare after missing 22 games. He bumped Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the bench, although head coach Quin Snyder did state Young would be on a minutes restriction.
The opening minutes of the game was a boondoggle, however, as an 8-0 Hornets run prompted an early Snyder timeout. Things were just as rough post-timeout, as Charlotte’s ball movement was multiple steps ahead of Atlanta’s defense almost every possession. The Hornets used this sharpness to
jump out to a 24-9 lead.
The Hawks found their footing a bit, but they face a pretty big deficit. The defense remained a step behind, but the offense matched Charlotte’s almost shot for shot after the opening minutes.
Young does still know how to run a pick-and-roll:
After one quarter, Charlotte led 37-32.
And then an even bigger flurry hit the Hawks in the second quarter. Bad offense led to easy chances in transition, and the Hawks bench had no idea what hit them it seemed. They couldn’t find a man to defend, and Charlotte got open three after open three to break the game wide open.
The only thing that made the game respectable at half was the scoring explosion from Nickeil Alexander-Walker within the final two minutes of the first half:
At half, the Hawks trailed 80-69.
The third quarter was, again, another dumpster fire. But amazingly, the Hawks were still in the game after the defensive disaster. They found themselves down 107-95 heading into the fourth quarter.
Jalen Johnson’s scoring was absolutely vital as the Hawks sought a huge comeback. The Hornets couldn’t match up with his physical, downhill drives, and he neared a 30-10-10 triple-double by early in the fourth quarter.
Here is just one example:
With the lead cut to four points, a new game was born out of what looked headed for a blowout.
But numerous 50/50 plays went Charlotte’s way down the stretch. The Hawks even trimmed the lead to three multiple times within three minutes remaining in the game. Though Johnson tried to will the Hawks to victory, the Hornets pulled one rabbit out of the hat after another.
Atlanta fell 133-126.
Johnson continued his rampage with 43 points (a new career-high), 11 rebounds, and nine assist on his 24th birthday. Alexander-Walker added 28 points, seven rebounds, and two assists.
The Hawks will aim for a better result Friday night against the San Antonio Spurs.
